THE REVIEW

MIXED GENRES

Wednesday’s Meeting saw a mixture of genres on display. There was Charity’s young adult western, Margaret’s crime memoir, my senior’s memoir as a ‘Honey’ story, Jason’s fantasy, and Luke’s fantasy. The fantasies probably have sub-genres, but this writer doesn’t know what they are.

Luke won the prize for best piece of writing from the previous week.

Margaret said she had attended a writers’ conference at Crescent Beach put on by the Federation of B.C. Writers. She said she was surprised at all the specific writing techniques that were discussed compared to other conferences that have dealt only in generalities that aren’t very helpful to someone wanting to hone their craft. Margaret said she would let us all know the next time one of their conferences is offered.

Luke read first, the beginning of another fantasy called “Debt Of Blood”. This shows the young female character Akoni sweating in a suit of armor as she tries climbing a massive staircase on a hot day. She is tracking a dreaded warrior whom she wants to apprehend in order to be accepted by her father and brother in their league of paladins. This beginning was very attention grabbing and is a good start for his novel.

Charity read next from “Trixie Trouble”. She has lost a lot of money she doesn’t have and downs some brandy to give her courage. When Brett Marley tells her he’ll make her a woman and she’s his girl, she knocks him over and then also escapes from two other men trying to grab her. She leaves the bard as a fire starts, and steals a horse, trying to leave town. But the horse throws her and then the figure of Donovan, the preacher’s son, appears and starts cursing her. This was a chapter full of action and it was fun just listening to it.

Jason read the next chapter from his novel. The Nobella hold Kwen accountable for the loss of four Herodun and discount her attempt to spare Damianos from the torture they plan for him. She is torn between wanting to save Damianos and wanting to adhere to the teachings of her tribe. When she does question the Nobella, she is warned her fate could be the same as her grandfather’s, who was killed as a traitor. She is told to keep Damianos alive during the torture, and to tell them any secrets revealed. The tension was building in this chapter.

Margaret read Chapter 10 from “Babes In The Wood”. Finally Detective Ingram gives her the number for Sgt. Honeyburn, in charge of unsolved cases. She seeks her husband’s advice on how to ask Honeyburn to see the murder file for the Babes. He tells her not to ask directly, but to stroke the man’s ego by asking to interview him instead. She meets him in the fall, after five years of questioning, and is very nervous. Consequently she is very inept as an interviewer and Honeyburn just gives her the file to read. This chapter was full of personal insight into Margaret and her marriage and her struggle with Asperger’s. It was very brave writing about her vulnerabilities, and this personal account riveted our attention.

Lastly, I read a ‘Honey’ story called “Nostalgia”. It’s about the two of us spending one New Year’s Eve listening to old records and recalling our favourites through the years, as well as favourites of older generations. The story ended with me going to bed before midnight. Luke and Charity both said they could sense the seniors in this story. Margaret asked me to specify more songs from the different albums mentioned. And Charity said contrary to my assumption about her generation, she did, indeed, own a record player.

Kay said she couldn’t attend on Wednesday as she was going away. And Annette said something came up at the last minute that prevented her from attending. We missed them both.

We had some discussion about taking a summer break, and decided we will still have the two meetings in July, but will break during August.

So, the next Meeting will be Wednesday, July 6th, at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Look forward to seeing you then, and please bring your vote for best piece of writing presented at the last Meeting. And Happy Canada Day in the meantime!

Lisa A. Hatton
Author